Chicago Sports

Same old orange-and-blue doormat.

Some things never change.

Is it basketball season yet?

Those three thoughts came to me quickly during last season’s Illinois-Virginia football game. I blinked, the visiting Illini were down 14-0 and my cynic-o-meter nearly went on tilt. They lost that game 42-14. Before long, Bret Bielema’s first Illinois team was 1-4.

Since then? Illini football has been a mixed bag of frustration and, yes, encouragement.

Some things might change. Maybe it’s time to find a new doormat.

Virginia (+4) at Illinois (3 p.m., ESPNU) is a rematch the Illini (1-1) are capable of winning. As you can see, they’re favored to do just that. The line puzzles me, though. Weren’t the Illini outgained by more than 200 yards in last year’s matchup? Don’t the Cavaliers (1-0) still have dual-threat lefty quarterback Brennan Armstrong, the school’s career leader in total offense with over 8,000 yards? Hasn’t UVA finished with a better record than Illinois five seasons in a row?

Just last week, the Illini should have won at Indiana but didn’t. Bloomington was an uncomplicated mission — see bad team, beat bad team — but the Illini blew it. It was like circling the drive-thru for a double cheeseburger and fries and leaving with a fish sandwich and onion rings. What the hell happened?

But here’s the reality of things: Outside of Armstrong, it’s not as if Virginia has better players. As well as Chase Brown is running it — he’s the first FBS player since 2018 to rush for at least 150 yards in the first two games of a season — it might be the Cavs’ defense that’s more on the spot. And good luck blocking the Illini’s Johnny Newton, a rising force.

And, more than all that, it’s a put-up-or-shut-up kind of week. If the Illini aren’t able to knock around an ACC also-ran at Memorial Stadium, progress must be an illusion.

“Before we start winning games,” Bielema keeps saying, “we’ve to stop losing them.”

See that door, Cavs? Lie down right beside it. Illini, 31-20.

OTHER WEEK 2 PICKS

Duke (+10 1/2 ) at Northwestern (11 a.m., FS1): The WIldcats couldn’t win in 2017 or 2018, when Duke had a future NFL quarterback in Daniel Jones. They couldn’t win in 2021, either, when both teams had QB troubles. For whatever reasons, the Blue Devils have been a tough nut for Pat Fitzgerald’s program to crack. It’s kind of strange.

“We’re excited about finally being able to play at home in front of people and show them who we are,” NU QB Ryan Hilinski said, “because it’s way different from last year.”

Is it, though? NU in a white-knuckler — call it 20-16.

No. 1 Alabama (-20) at Texas (11 a.m., Fox-32): Watch the Longhorns put up big plays offensively from running back Bijan Robinson, wideout Xavier Worthy and gloriously mulleted QB Quinn Ewers. This is a fun team, folks. But the Tide? They’re what great looks like. They can match whatever Texas does, and then some … and then some more. Tide, 52-27.

Marshall (+20 1/2 ) at No. 8 Notre Dame (1:30 p.m., Ch. 5, Peacock): Get that first win, Marcus Freeman. You’ve earned it. Unless, that is, your Irish are flat after an opening game at Ohio State they spent months obsessing over and … uh-oh. Wait, uh-oh? Maybe just a little. Irish, 34-17.

No. 24 Tennessee (-6) at No. 17 Pittsburgh (2:30 p.m., Ch. 7): Here’s your game of the day, people. You know, assuming you’re into scoreboards lighting up like pinball machines and all that. Who has the last laugh, Vols QB Hendon Hooker or Panthers QB Kedon Slovis? Vols, 41-38 (OT).

No. 20 Kentucky (+6) at No. 12 Florida (6 p.m., ESPN): Could be tough for the Gators to crank it all the way back up emotionally after their upset of Utah in a wild Week 1 finish. If the Wildcats had running back Chris Rodriguez in the lineup, this would be an upset pick. Instead: Gators, 23-21.

My favorite favorite: Iowa (-3) vs. Iowa State (3 p.m., BTN): Is Iowa’s offense irreparably broken? Why is Spencer Petras still the QB? How can Kirk Ferentz’s son Brian still be the offensive coordinator? Yep, the Hawkeyes have issues — but beating the rival Cyclones ain’t one of ’em. Make it seven years in a row.

My favorite underdog: No. 9 Baylor (+3) at No. 21 BYU (9:15 p.m., ESPN): Provo at night is a scary place, but the Bears rag-dolled BYU up front last year in Waco. Guess whose big uglies returned pretty much intact on both sides of the ball?

Last week: 6-1 straight up, 5-2 vs. the spread.

Season to date: 7-2 straight up, 7-2 vs. the spread.

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Please send scores and corrections to [email protected].

Thursday, September 8

RED CENTRAL

Woodlawn vs. Pritzker at Lane

BLUE CENTRAL

Golder 7, Muchin 0

BLUE SOUTHEAST

Chicago Military 34, Fenger 0

Washington vs. DuSable at Gately

NONCONFERENCE

Minooka 41, Romeoville 0

Oswego 42, Joliet Central 0

Oswego East 34, Plainfield East 20

Plainfield Central 28, West Aurora 16

Plainfield North 48, Joliet West 0

Yorkville 34, Plainfield South 21

Friday, September 9

RED CENTRAL

Hansberry at Speer, 7:15

RED NORTH-CENTRAL

Amundsen at Steinmetz, 4:15

Senn vs. Schurz at Lane, 7:15

Von Steuben vs. Mather at Winnemac, 4:15

RED SOUTH-CENTRAL

Dunbar vs. Chicago Richards at Stagg, 4:15

UP-Bronzeville at Perspectives, 7:30

RED SOUTHEAST

Comer vs. Corliss at Gately, 7:15

Vocational vs. Carver at Gately, 4:15

BLUE NORTH

Chicago Academy vs. Clemente at Lane, 4:15

Foreman at Marine, 4:15

DUKANE

Batavia at Wheaton North, 7

Glenbard North at Geneva, 7

Lake Park at St. Charles East, 7

Wheaton-Warrenville South at St. Charles North, 7

FOX VALLEY

Burlington Central at Dundee-Crown, 7

Cary-Grove at Crystal Lake Central, 7

Hampshire at Crystal Lake South, 7

Huntley at Prairie Ridge, 7

Jacobs at McHenry, 7

ILLINOIS CENTRAL EIGHT

Coal City at Wilmington, 7

Peotone at Manteno, 7

Reed-Custer at Lisle, 7

Streator at Herscher, 7

KISHWAUKEE BLUE

Marengo at Richmond-Burton, 7

Rochelle at Johnsburg, 7

KISHWAUKEE WHITE

Kaneland at Morris, 7

LaSalle-Peru at Woodstock North, 7

Sycamore at Woodstock, 7

METRO SUBURBAN BLUE

Aurora Central at Wheaton Academy, 7:30

Elmwood Park at IC Catholic, 7

Ridgewood at Bishop McNamara, 7

METRO SUBURBAN RED

Chicago Christian at Riverside-Brookfield, 7

St. Francis at St. Edward, 7:30

NORTH SUBURBAN

Stevenson at Lake Zurich, 7

Warren at Libertyville, 7

Waukegan at Lake Forest, 7:15

Zion-Benton at Mundelein, 7

NORTHERN LAKE COUNTY

Grayslake North at Grant, 7

Lakes at Antioch, 7

North Chicago at Grayslake Central, 7

Round Lake at Wauconda, 7

SOUTH SUBURBAN BLUE

Bremen at Tinley Park, 6

Oak Forest at Lemont, 7

TF North at TF South, 7

SOUTH SUBURBAN RED

Oak Lawn at Evergreen Park, 7

Reavis at Argo, 7

Richards at Eisenhower, 7

SOUTHLAND

Kankakee at Thornridge, 6

Rich Township at Thornwood, 6

UPSTATE EIGHT

East Aurora at Bartlett, 7

Larkin at Glenbard South, 7

South Elgin at Fenton, 7

Streamwood at Elgin, 7:30

West Chicago at Glenbard East, 7

WEST SUBURBAN GOLD

Addison Trail at Morton, 7:30

Leyden at Hinsdale South, 7:30

Willowbrook at Proviso East, 7:30

WEST SUBURBAN SILVER

Hinsdale Central at Lyons, 7

Proviso West at York, 7:30

NONCONFERENCE

Andrew at Sandburg, 7

Belleville East at Metea Valley, 7

Bismarck-Henning at Watseka, 7

Bolingbrook at Lincoln-Way West, 7:30

Brother Rice at Benet, 7:30

Christ the King at Aurora Christian, 7:30

Deer Creek-Mackinaw at Ottawa Marquette, 7

Deerfield at Hersey, 7

DeKalb at Belleville West, 6

Downers Grove South at Downers Grove North, 7

Evanston at Prospect, 7:30

Glenbrook North at Conant, 7:30

Glenbrook South at Fremd, 7:30

Highland Park at Buffalo Grove, 7

Homewood-Flossmoor at Lincoln-Way Central, 7:30

Iroquois West at Georgetown, 7

Joliet Catholic at De La Salle, 7:30

Kenwood at Taft, 7:30

Lincoln-Way East at Stagg, 7

Lockport at Bradley-Bourbonnais, 7

Loyola at St. Rita, 7:30

Maine East at Wheeling, 7

Maine South at Barrington, 7:30

Maine West at Hoffman Estates, 7:30

Marist at Nazareth, 7

Milwaukee Riverside, Wis. at Naperville Central, 7

Momence at Hoopeston, 7

Montini at Marmion, 7:30

Mount Carmel at Notre Dame, 7:30

New Trier at Palatine, 7:30

Niles North at Elk Grove, 7:30

Niles West at Schaumburg, 7

O’Fallon at Waubonsie Valley, 6

Oakwood at Clifton Central, 7

Ottawa at Harvard, 7

Providence at Fenwick, 7:30

Shepard at Hillcrest, 6

St. Laurence at St. Ignatius, 7:30

St. Louis St. Mary’s, Mo. at Neuqua Valley, 7

St. Patrick at Marian Central, 7:30

St. Viator at DePaul Prep, 7:30

Vernon Hills at Rolling Meadows, 7

Westmont at Plano, 7

Westville at Dwight, 7

Saturday, September 10

RED CENTRAL

Catalyst-Maria vs. UIC Prep at Eckersall, 10 a.m.

Rauner vs. Rowe-Clark at Orr, 4

RED NORTH-CENTRAL

Lake View vs. Sullivan at Winnemac, 4

RED SOUTH-CENTRAL

Bogan vs. Hyde Park at Eckersall, 4

King vs. Ag. Science at Gately, 1

RED SOUTHEAST

Dyett vs. South Shore at Gately, 4

Julian at Goode, 2

RED WEST

Lincoln Park vs. Kennedy at Westinghouse, 10 a.m.

North Lawndale vs. Bulls Prep at Winnemac, 10 a.m.

Payton vs. Crane at Westinghouse, 4

Raby vs. Little Village at Orr, 1

BLUE CENTRAL

Johnson vs. Noble Street at Winnemac, 1

Noble Academy vs. Longwood at Gately, 10 a.m.

BLUE NORTH

Roosevelt vs. Prosser at Lane, 4

BLUE SOUTHEAST

Harlan vs. Bowen at Eckersall, 1

BLUE SOUTHWEST

Back of the Yards vs. Lindblom at Stagg, 1

Englewood STEM vs. Gage Park at Stagg, 10 a.m.

Solorio vs. Tilden at Stagg, 4

BLUE WEST

Collins at Kelly, 11 a.m.

Marshall at Orr, 10 a.m.

SOUTHLAND

Crete-Monee at Thornton, 1

WEST SUBURBAN SILVER

Oak Park-River Forest at Glenbard West, 1:30

NONCONFERENCE

Carmel vs. Leo at St. Rita, 7

Clark at Brooks, 4

Curie at Westinghouse, 1

Detroit St. Mary’s, Mich. at Naperville North, 1

Hope Academy at Quincy Notre Dame, 1

Hubbard at Lane, noon

Marian Catholic at Bloom, noon

Morgan Park vs. Phillips at Gately, 7

Seneca at Salt Fork, 1

Simeon vs. Young at Lane, 7:15

Walther Christian at Red Hill, 1

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No. 1 Mount Carmel at No. 20 Notre Dame, 7:30 p.m. Friday

Preseason top-ranked Mount Carmel (2-0) has been as dominant as advertised behind a defense that has allowed only three points — on a 51-yard field goal by St. Rita’s Conor Talty — in two games and an offense well-stocked with playmakers. Some difference makers include quarterback Blainey Dowling, who threw for 318 yards and five TDs in Week 1; running back Darrion Dupree; and FBS recruits Asher Tomaszewski (Kansas State) and Danny Novickas (Ohio) on defense. Notre Dame (2-0), coming off a big rivalry win over St. Patrick, is sparked by the Ricciardi twins, quarterback Vincenzo and running back Francesco.

No. 2 Loyola at No. 13 St. Rita, 7:30 p.m. Friday

Like Mount Carmel, Loyola (2-0) hasn’t really been tested yet. The Ramblers offense is runningsmoothly behindquarterback Jake Stearney, a Colgate recruit, and a deep, talented receiving corps. Brooks Bahr, a 6-6 Michigan recruit who’s among the nation’s top linemen, leads the defense. St. Rita (1-1), in coach Todd Kuska’sfinal season, is playing its third straight CCL/ESCC Blue opponent. After a rough opening loss to Mount Carmel, the Mustangs rebounded to down Brother Rice last week. Junior back Ethan Middleton, who has a Penn State offer, runs behind a big, talented line.

No. 7 Batavia at Wheaton North, 7 p.m. Friday

After cruising past Phillips in its opener, Batavia (1-1) fell behind 31-0 en route to an eventual 31-16 loss to No. 3 Lincoln-Way East. Now it’s on to DuKane Conference play, where the Bulldogs will try to bounce back behind linebackers Tyler Jansey (Wisconsin) and Jack Sadowsky (Iowa State). Quarterback Ryan Boe (326 yards) and receiver Charlie Whelpley have been an effective combo. Defending Class 7A champ Wheaton North (2-0) lost a lot to graduation, but has allowed just seven points this season behind a defense led by linebacker Ross Dansdill (Holy Cross).

No. 11 Marist at No. 19 Nazareth, 7 p.m. Friday

Marist (1-1) bounced back from a 33-31 opening loss to Glenbard West by rolling past Richards in Week 2. The RedHawks have three FCS recruits: defensive lineman Jamel Howard (Wisconsin), defensive back John Nestor (Iowa) and receiver Ryan Sims (Miami, Ohio). Nazareth (1-1) already has a shutout win over Kankakee in a Week 1 matchup of Class 5A powers. The Roadrunners have a number of two-way standouts, including Justin Taylor (Wisconsin), William Beargie (Princeton) and Zach Hayes.

Kenwood at Taft, 7:30 p.m. Friday

The Public League revamped its scheduling this fall for the top tier of teams, aiming to get them better games in the regular season to prepare for the IHSA playoffs. This crossover is a product of that effort. Kenwood (1-1) has as much top-shelf talent as any team in the state north of East St. Louis, but is working to eliminate mistakes. Among those to watch: defensive backs Kahlil Tate (Iowa) and Kiwaun Davis (Western Michigan), edge rusher Marquise Lightfoot, linebacker K’VionThunderbird and running back Davonte Johnson. Taft (0-2), whose two losses have been by a total of six points, is led by two-way lineman Grzegorz Krupa.

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The Bears likely will have to keep waiting for the debut of rookie wide receiver Velus Jones. After missing practice all week because of a hamstring injury, he is doubtful for the season opener against the 49ers on Sunday.

Jones has been in and out since the Bears reported for training camp in late July, and that has hindered his ability to secure a role in the offense. He appeared to be solidifying himself as the primary punt returner and an option at kick returner, which would at least get him some opportunities until he found his footing offensively, but those plans are on hold.

Jones was healthy for just one of the Bears’ three preseason games and had one catch for four yards against the Seahawks. He also fumbled the opening kickoff, then took a punt 48 yards to set up a touchdown.

“You’ve gotta increase your value by doing multiple things,” Jones said after that game. “My value is I’m a good returner and a good receiver. In the return game, I’ll keep doing my thing, and I’ll slowly keep working my way into the offense.”

Injury aside, that doesn’t appear to have happened yet. Jones is no higher than fourth on the depth chart at wide receiver.

The Bears likely will start Darnell Mooney, Byron Pringle and Equanimeous St. Brown against the 49ers, with Dante Pettis next in line behind them. Former first-round pick N’Keal Harry was supposed to be part of that group, too, but he is starting the season on injured reserve.

Bears general manager Ryan Poles gambled by waiting until the third round to address a major need at wide receiver, taking Jones out of Tennessee at No. 71 overall and 14th at his position. Other than Mooney, the Bears’ veteran receivers are all on one-year contracts, so the team’s hope is that Jones will make enough progress in his rookie season to show he be more of a focal point offensively in 2023.

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The Chicago Bears have had preliminary talks with Gov. J.B. Pritzker, state legislators and village trustees in Arlington Heights about the infrastructure help they need to support a $5 billion “stadium-anchored development” and nobody has thrown them for a loss, retiring President Ted Phillips said Friday.

One day after a community meeting to lay the groundwork for a public subsidy, Phillips said the Bears have hired Goldman Sachs to “explore every possible option” and develop a “specific ask” of the village and state. Only then would a developer be chosen to partner with the Bears.

A tax increment financing district is one way to achieve the “property tax certainty” that Phillips called a precursor to going forward. It freezes property taxes for 23 years, during which any “increment,” or growth, is earmarked for roads, mass transit improvementsand utility work.

But Phillips said there are other options. He refused to put a dollar figure on infrastructure work that will be needed to make the 326-acre site of the Arlington International Racecourse viable.

But the proposal for new entrances off Euclid Avenue and off-ramps from Route 53 running beneath Northwest Highway would surely drive the price tag well over $100 million.

“This is not just plopping a stadium on a plot of land. … It is a stadium-anchored development. But there’s so much more to this. And that’s a big reason why the infrastructure makes sense,” Phillips said.

“This isn’t going forward without a public-private partnership working together on making the infrastructure happen. It’s as simple as that. It’s not a threat. It’s about looking at the financial feasibility. … We need to have a smart plan for infrastructure. … And we need some property tax certainty. We’re not looking to not pay property taxes. The reality is, we will pay more than what the site paid in property taxes when it was a racetrack.”

The preliminary talks with Pritzker, local lawmakers and village trustees were aimed at “understanding the political climate” and “what makes sense” in terms of a state and local contribution.

“We don’t have a specific ask. … We’re working on that. … We’re just asking everyone to be open-minded. To not jump to conclusions and give us a chance to make our case. And I would say, 100% everyone said, `We understand what you’re telling us,'” Phillips said.

Asked whether any officials slammed the door on public funding, Phillips said: “Nobody did. Everybody said they appreciated being brought up to speed on our preliminary plans. And that’s all we wanted to accomplish. We’re gonna be transparent. That’s how we got the Soldier Field renovation done. … What it took was Mayor Daley developing some trust,” Phillips said.

“The Bears have to show, `Here’s the public benefit. Here’s the economic impact. Here’s the jobs that will be created.’ … If you can do that in a way where you’re working together, then … a public subsidy commensurate with the potential huge economic boon to the region and to the state makes it worthwhile.”

Phillips, who has served as the Bears’ president and CEO since 1999, will retire in February.

The now 20-year-old renovation of Soldier Field is the crowning achievement of Phillips’ 40-year career with the Bears.

He managed to deliver what his predecessor Michael McCaskey could not during years of public feuding with former Mayors Harold Washington, Eugene Sawyer and Richard M. Daley. The $660 million project was bankrolled by bonds that won’t be fully repaid until 2032.

On Friday, Phillips argued that the “financial deal” that he cut for the Bears at a renovated Soldier Field has “worked relatively well” for the team. That’s why the team was not “proactively looking for a new stadium” when Churchill Downs put the Arlington Park racecourse site up for sale.

But Phillips argued that Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s $2.2 billion plan to put a dome on Soldier Field does not solve the stadium’s inherent problems of ingress/egress; tight concourses; a shortage of restrooms, parking, tailgating space and “points of sale”; and a “tight” lakefront site that precludes further development. And since the Bears are tenants, they do not control a stadium owned by the Chicago Park District that has other tenants and conflicts.

“It was complicated enough just due to concerts and international soccer games and college football games. Now, layer in the Chicago Fire and their season and the needs that they have. It makes it difficult. Everyone’s trying to do their best to make it work. But it’s not ideal,” Phillips said.

“There are certain things that can’t be solved with a dome — assuming that can even happen. … It’s in a spectacular setting on the lake with the skyline of the city north of it. But that also comes with the difficulty of getting in and out. It’s become harder and harder … for fans … to want to travel to Soldier Field. It adds to a very long day when you have traffic issues like that.”

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Allen Robinson’s debut with the Los Angeles Rams wasn’t a good one and Bears fans made sure Twitter knew about it

Former Chicago Bears wide receiver Allen Robinson opted to join the defending Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams as a free agent this past offseason. After four years in Chicago, Robinson and the team couldn’t get a long-term deal done, and he decided to move on with a new regime in charge.

Robinson ended his Bears career with a disappointing 2021 campaign, catching 38 passes for 410 yards and one touchdown. The wide receiver didn’t look the same all year long and some even accused him of ‘dogging it’ at the end.

On Thursday, Bears fans were able to watch their former receiver in prime time as the Rams took on the Bills to open the year. And with Robinson finishing the game with just one catch for 12 yards, Bears fans didn’t shy away from gloating on Twitter:

And those were just some of the tweets throughout the night.

Look, it’s only Week 1 and Allen Robinson could very well turn this thing around. Odds are, he will as the Rams still have one of the better offenses in the league. But for one night, Bears fans took a victory lap and said ‘See! I told you!” when looking at Robinson’s performance in the loss.

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Chicago is a Bears town, and Sundays are Bears days. Local radio and TV stations have fans covered with programming practically all day, led by the game broadcast on WBBM-AM 780 and 105.9-FM with play-by-play voice Jeff Joniak, analyst Tom Thayer and sideline reporter Mark Grote. The pregame show begins at 9 a.m., and more coverage follows the game.

Below is a listing of where to find Bears pregame and postgame coverage. Schedules will differ for games on Monday and Thursday nights.

FOX-32

WFLD is the Bears’ TV home, and not just because most of their games will air there. “Fox Kickoff” starts at 10 a.m. with Lou Canellis and former Bears quarterback Jim Miller. “Bears Game Day Live” follows at 10:30 with Canellis, Joniak and Thayer.

When Fox doesn’t have a doubleheader, “Bears Postgame live” will follow the game with Canellis, Miller, Anthony Herron and Cassie Carlson, who will be on-site for road games. When another NFL game follows the Bears, the show will move to Ch. 50, sister station WPWR.

The station finishes the day with “Bears Game Night Live” at 10:30 p.m. with Canellis, Joniak and Thayer. That follows its Sunday night sports show, “Sports Zone,” which begins at 10.

NBC SPORTS CHICAGO / NBC 5

NBCSCH resumes “Football Aftershow,” which follows every Bears game. Former Bears coach Dave Wannstedt joins the cast of host David Kaplan and analysts Lance Briggs and Alex Brown. Wannstedt replaces Olin Kreutz.

Wannstedt also will appear on Ch. 5’s “Sports Sunday” every week of the season with Leila Rahimi and Mike Berman. The show starts at 10:30 p.m.

WGN TV & RADIO

Ch. 9 will recap Bears games on its nightly “GN Sports,” which starts at 10:30 p.m. On 720-AM, Bears greats Dan Hampton and Ed O’Bradovich return, with Andy Masur hosting. They’ll have a one-hour pregame show starting at 11 a.m. and a two-hour postgame show from 3-5 p.m.

670 THE SCORE

Mike Mulligan, former Bear Patrick Mannelly and Anthony Herron will appear on a pregame show starting at 9 a.m. Mulligan and Mannelly also will handle the postgame show, followed by more Bears talk hosted by Herron.

ESPN 1000

Dionne Miller and Jeff Meller return to host a pregame show starting at 10 a.m. John Jurkovic (aka Jurko) and Peggy Kusinski will host the postgame show.

CBS 2

Marshall Harris and Matt Zahn will handle coverage during their “Sports Xtra” segment of the newscast.

ABC 7

Jim Rose and Miller will handle coverage during the newscast.

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Members of the 1972 U.S. Olympic basketball team have talked about finally retrieving those silver medals they vowed to never accept and left behind in Germany.

No, they still don’t want them for themselves.

They believe the medals belong in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, but the latest attempt to get them from the International Olympic Committee has been thwarted.

To get the medals a home in the Hall of Fame — which is holding its induction ceremony for the Class of 2022 this weekend — the IOC told the players they first have to accept them.

“If we have to accept them, then that’s not going to be an option,” said Tom Burleson, a center from North Carolina State who played on the team.

It’s the same non-starter it was 50 years ago Friday.

The Americans’ first loss in Olympic competition remains one of the most complicated and controversial finishes ever — there’s little question it’s part of the sport’s history, which the Hall preserves.

It’s not that the IOC disagrees with the Hall of Fame option. The Olympic governing body would let members of the team do what they want with the medals — once they’ve followed the organization’s procedure for obtaining them.

Tom McMillen, a forward from Maryland and a member of the 1972 team, said the IOC saying players having to accept the medals is “sort of ridiculous” and came up with a possible solution to the impasse: Have a third-party accept the medals so they could be placed in the Hall of Fame.

“What we talked about was, given what the IOC’s position is, we could say, ‘OK, give us the medals,’ and then we reject them by giving them to the Naismith museum,” said McMillen, now president and CEO of the LEAD1 Association, representing college Football Bowl Subdivision athletic directors and programs.

“In other words, we say, ‘We don’t want these, we don’t think we deserve them, we think we deserve the gold,'” McMillen said. “But I think everybody’s got different views. I mean, it’s really hard, so it’s probably going to stay the way it is.”

At least for the foreseeable future.

The sting of the loss still lingers.

The United States brought a 63-game Olympic winning streak into the final against the Soviet Union on Sept. 9, 1972, in Munich. It appeared the Americans had extended it to 64 when the horn sounded to end the game with them leading 50-49.

The game was restarted — twice — during what even the players struggle to define as errors by the officials or an outright attempt to cheat them.

Referees initially put time back on the clock after the Soviets argued they had called a timeout and the horn had sounded. The clock was still being reset when the ball was put into play and the Soviets didn’t score, so R. William Jones, the secretary general of FIBA, again ordered the clock reset to 3 seconds.

Given another chance, the Soviets fired a long pass to Aleksander Belov, who scored to give the Soviets a 51-50 victory.

Ed Ratleff, a forward who played at Long Beach State, believes it’s possible some players may have softened on their stance after 50 years, but said neither he nor anyone he still talks to has. One of them, Kenny Davis, has in his will that his family is to never accept silver.

“I tell you what, I am the same way I was 50 years ago,” Ratleff said. “My mother always taught me you won’t take anything that doesn’t belong to you, and I didn’t think the silver medal belonged to us.

“I’m not taking it and I’m sure 100% we got cheated out of it and I think they knew that, too.”

McMillen hopes the entire team will one day be enshrined in the Hall of Fame and with this being the 50th anniversary of the Munich Games, this weekend would have been a fitting time. It’s an honor Olympic champions such as the 1960 and 1992 U.S. teams have earned.

Short of that, he hoped at least the medals could have a home in the Springfield, Massachusetts, museum. McMillen, a former Congressman from Maryland, asked IOC member Dick Pound about putting the medals in the Hall of Fame.

The IOC let McMillen know earlier this year — and reiterated its position again this week — that nobody could accept the medals except the players themselves.

“The IOC expressed its appreciation for his efforts but felt that appointing an attorney to accept the medals would not be appropriate,” an IOC spokesman said Thursday in an email to The Associated Press.

Previous conversations about awarding dual gold medals also had been denied and McMillen was disappointed to learn his latest attempt wouldn’t work, either.

Given that, McMillen said the medals might still be in a vault in Switzerland in 1,000 years, but in fact they’re not even all together now. The IOC said it received seven medals in 1992 from the local organizing committee, which are now kept in its Olympic Museum collections. The others remained with the organizing committee.

Jerry Colangelo, chairman of the Hall of Fame board, said the Hall is aware of the players’ wishes and would like to help them. However, it appears those steps are out of the Hall’s hands.

“There’s a scar on the hearts of each one who has participated,” said Colangelo, also the former chairman of USA Basketball, adding that any decisions will have to wait.

“It still needs to be addressed as it pertains to the Hall of Fame.”

There have been attempts to heal the scar, or at least ease the pain of the loss for players.

During the 2008 Olympics, the next generation of stars – NBA standouts make up Olympic teams now, unlike the college players in 1972 – went over to the broadcast table to acknowledge Doug Collins, whose free throws with 3 seconds left had given the Americans the lead in 1972, and they believed, the victory, after he worked the gold-medal game at the Beijing Games.

Four years later, members of the team held a 40th reunion, where they remained united that there would never be accepting of silver.

Two of them, James Forbes and Dwight Jones, have since died. McMillen hoped there was a way to get the rest together sometime this year, though it seems there would be no change given what they’ve heard from the IOC.

“We’ll just let them keep it,” Burleson said. “I hate it, it would be nice to think they were on U.S. soil somewhere. But then again, if they want them, they can keep them.”

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Somehow Woody Goss and I discovered a mutual love for Park 566.

Considering we just met in early June as I followed Goss around as he birded at Cap Sauers Holding Nature Preserve in the Palos area, that our conversation ended up an obscure park on the South Side was surprising.

Park 566 stretches south from Rainbow Beach Park along the lakefront to the North Slip off Calumet Harbor across from Steelworkers Park.

I walked the entire length of 566 years ago before it was even numbered, trying to learn another way to legally access the winter perch spot at the North Slip. The walk was wonderfully wild, down to going eye-to-eye with a red fox.

Since then, some restoration work has been completed but 566 remains wild.

Goss, a musician best known as keyboardist with the world-trotting funk band Vulfpeck, floored me when he said he was so inspired after birding there that he did a composition: Park 566 (Reprise), available on YouTube. His composition, Steelworkers Park, is also on YouTube.

For some of us, the essence of the outdoors is a combination of wild and isolation, a getaway to clear the head.

In the Chicago area, my favorite such getaways are Mazonia State Fish and Wildlife Area and Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie.

In July, when I did a column on South Shore Nature Sanctuary, I offhandedly mentioned I was coming up a top five list of such spots within Chicago in my head. Ken “Husker” O’Malley messaged he would like to see that list.

So Park 566 and South Shore Nature Sanctuary make two of the five.

I was reminded of that list on Sunday as my wife and I walked around after visiting the Cezanne exhibit at the Art Institute. We ended up at Lurie Garden as Jazz Fest provided the musical background.

Considering thousands of people are within blocks of Lurie Garden, it seems a stretch to think of isolation and the natural. But that’s the genius of that urban space. I visit Lurie Garden every chance I get. Every season brings different colors, different scents, different shapes and each time feels like experiencing it anew.

The trick to such urban wild spaces is to carve out personal space of some sort.

For me, the classic such spot would be Wooded Island in Jackson Park, which is truly a classic designed for the 1893 World’s Fair by famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted.

I learned to love it over the years I regularly covered the Chicago Half Marathon on a September Sunday. After filing my story, I would walk to Wooded Island, where I could let my mind wander virtually alone with only a few like-minded people while just a couple blocks away thousands clustered around the running festivities.

North Park Village Nature Center holds a similar appeal to me, too. It is a heavily used natural space, but you can make your own alone space easily, whether sitting by the water or walking the woods or hill.

Personal history helps in that head-clearing natural time. When our two oldest were little, we lived a few blocks away and we often went there so I could tire them into nap time.

That time alone and in the natural world has layers of value, some of them very practical.

For the record, Montrose Harbor, Palmisano Park, Steelworkers Park and the confluence of the North Branch of the Chicago River and the North Shore Channel were also considered for this list.

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Lucas Patrick has been battling back from injury

Chicago Bears offensive lineman Lucas Patrick was not on the team’s injury report Wednesday. In training camp, the Bears offensive lineman sustained an injury to his hand. He had been out all of the remaining training camp but was seen practicing this week.

The Bears are hoping Patrick can solidify an offensive line that was sack-heavy in quarterback Justin Fields rookie season. He’s expected to be the team’s starting center when he’s healthy. Although the Bears had been trying him out at guard and center this week as he works his way back from the hand injury.

Bears insider Bradd Biggs updated the Status of the offensive line and Patrick. Per Lester Wiltfong Jr., while on the Mully and Haugh show, Biggs reported that Patrick still has not snapped the ball this week and that he might not start.

He also said the Bears like Sam Mustipher’s progress.

Lucas Patrick knows OC Luke Getsy’s offense well

Patrick will need some time to work his way back from injury back to the starting line. I’d assume he will get a starting position in the next few weeks. Patrick will be too important to the offense to keep on the sideline if healthy. Patrick, who came over from the Green Bay Packers in the offseason, knows offensive coordinator Luke Getsy’s offense well. Getsy was a coach for the Packers last season.

The offensive line without him will be something to keep an eye on this week. We’ll see how much Mustipher has improved in the offseason. He’ll be going against a top-tier defensive line of the San Francisco 49ers.

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